


we keep this love in a photograph

by LailaLiquorice



Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Adopted Children, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Light Angst, Mother-Daughter Relationship, everyone pray for aragon, jane loves her daughter so much, kat being a fragile bean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-03
Updated: 2019-07-03
Packaged: 2020-06-03 13:33:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19465036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LailaLiquorice/pseuds/LailaLiquorice
Summary: Jane and Kat have an emotional conversation about what exactly they mean to each other.





	we keep this love in a photograph

Katherine could hardly remember what it felt like to have a mother. It had been so long that she could hardly picture what her mother had even looked like, and she didn’t like to remember the face of her grandmother who had been supposed to step into her mother’s shoes. With those memories still fresh in mind after her reincarnation she’d been determined to make her own way without any parental figures who could hurt her, pushing the other older queens away for fear that if she trusted herself to them then they would only be able to hurt her later.

That had hardly lasted a month before Jane managed to break through her walls. The other woman’s gentle eyes and kind smiles had worn down Kat’s defences quicker than she’d hoped, but there was something about Jane that was different from any other parental figure she’d had. She wanted nothing from Kat other than someone to look after. Kat needed a mother and Jane needed a daughter, and that’s what they became.

She’d been happy with the unspoken nature of the arrangement, wary that if she asked Jane exactly what she meant to her then Jane would think her too needy and take a step back. But, as it happened, she ended up having that exact conversation in a completely accidental way.

She and Jane were sat quietly in the living room on one of their days off, Jane working on an embroidery piece while Kat read a book that Cathy had lent her a few days before. The house was unusually silent since they were the only two at home; the others had all decided to go to a museum but Jane and Kat had been awake most of the night before due to a nightmare, so had opted for a more restful day. They were both sat on the sofa but Kat was conscious to keep a good few inches of space between her and Jane, not wanting to bother her anymore after dragging her out of bed.

“You’re very quiet, love, are you alright?” Jane broke the silence gently, and Kat looked over her book to see Jane watching her with an expression of concern on her face.

Kat nodded quickly. “I’m fine. Just a bit tired, that’s all.”

“You and me both, dear.”

Despite Jane’s chuckle, Kat couldn’t help her cheeks from colouring with shame. “Sorry,” she mumbled, her shoulders hunching a little to try and make herself smaller.

Jane looked confused as she put her sewing down and asked “Whatever for?”

Kat shifted uncomfortably, wishing she had something better to hide behind than Cathy’s flimsy novel. “I woke you up. You should’ve gone back to bed and not stayed awake with me, then you could have gone to the museum with everyone else.”

“And leave you alone? I could never have slept knowing you were sitting there frightened,” Jane said, shaking her head. “You will never be bothering me if you wake me up in the night, love, the nightmares aren’t your fault and I’ll never blame you for needing someone to sit with you. Alright?”

Kat gave an unconvinced nod. Despite Jane’s reassurances, she still felt guilty for keeping her home from a family outing which she always loved so much.

Seeming to sense Kat’s continued misgivings, Jane smiled as she added “Besides, I’m quite looking forward to seeing how Catherine handles being the one in charge today, aren’t you?”

That brought a tiny laugh out of Kat, imagining Aragon tearing her hair out while trying to wrangle the other three queens. Chances are Anne and Anna were running wild together while Cathy was constantly getting left behind due to her tendency to read every piece of information there was.

“There’s my smiley Kat,” Jane said, and Kat’s smile widened at the warm feeling in her chest that Jane’s words brought about.

After a minute or two of quiet while they got back to their respective hobbies, Jane asked “Do you know what the time is? I should imagine they’ll be home and wanting dinner within a couple of hours.”

Kat glanced around for her phone, but then remembered it was plugged in charging on her bedside table upstairs. Jane’s was within reach though, and she didn’t think twice before grabbing it and pressing the power button. But she didn’t even notice the time display as she saw the picture that came up. It was a selfie of her and Jane that Kat had taken a few weeks ago, both of them smiling happily as they looked into the camera.

When Kat didn’t reply for several seconds, Jane glanced up from her embroidery to see her staring at the phone screen. Noticing Jane watching her from the corner of her eye, Kat fumbled with her words for a moment before managing to ask “Am I your lockscreen?”

Jane blinked with surprise before saying hurriedly. “Oh, you weren’t supposed to see that. I can change the picture if it makes you uncomfortable love, I didn’t think what you’d-“

“Why?”

She paused at Kat’s interruption. “Why what?”

“Why this picture? Why me?” Kat clarified, glancing between the real Jane and the one on her phone screen.

This time it was Jane’s turn to look uncomfortable, an expression that Kat didn’t think suited her at all. “Well, you know I’ve been going to a support group for mothers who lost babies,” she explained hesitantly, and Kat nodded. “A lot of the mothers had pictures of them with their other children on their phones. So I thought… no nevermind, you’re right it’s silly.”

Jane went to take her phone back as she broke off but Kat just held it tighter, her eyes wide as her mind whirled with what Jane’s words meant. “You… you think of me like your daughter?” she asked in a shocked whisper.

“Yes,” Jane admitted simply. “Looking after you reminds me of everything I was so excited about before Edward was born, and I just- oh Kat, sweetheart, what’s the matter?”

Kat didn’t realise until then that she had tears rolling down her cheeks, and at the look of genuine love and worry on Jane’s face she couldn’t help but drop the phone and book in favour of throwing herself into Jane’s arms. Jane’s soft words of reassurance sounded in her ear as Kat hid her face in the crook of her neck, letting herself truly relax in her embrace for possibly the first time ever.

After a few moments of quiet where Jane just ran her fingers through Kat’s hair to comfort her down, Jane asked “Is that ok, love? I know you’ve been hurt so badly by those who were meant to protect you and I don’t want to impose if you’re not comfortable with that.”

Kat didn’t respond for a second or two, before she sat back to look at Jane properly. “I haven’t had a mum for a really long time,” she said quietly, pausing to swallow hard when her voice wobbled treacherously. “I didn’t want to need one this time. But I think… I think it might be nice to try again.”

“That’s so brave of you, darling. I’m so proud of you,” Jane said, tears in her own eyes as she smiled at Kat.

Meeting Jane’s gaze as she spoke, Kat was beyond floored at the unconditional love she saw in her tearful eyes. That realisation was all it took for Kat’s wall to be finally pulled down, and she didn’t hesitate as she shifted to sit curled into Jane’s side. Jane’s arm around her shoulders pulling her close was comforting rather than suffocating for the first time, and she murmured a quiet “Thank you,” as Jane dropped a kiss on her forehead.

* * *

A few hours later, Kat was woken up from where she’d fallen asleep in Jane’s embrace to the sound of chaos entering their front door. Jane gave her one last quick hug before they weren’t alone anymore, with Aragon screaming “GO TO YOUR ROOMS!” just before she walked wordlessly into the living room and collapsed into the armchair with her hands covering her eyes. By the sounds of footsteps on the staircase it seemed that the others had miraculously decided to follow her order.

“Tough day, love?” Jane asked, a mixture of pity and amusement in her voice.

Aragon lifted her head to look at Jane with a weary expression on her face. “I let Anne have something sugary, she and Anna were escorted out for knocking over a suit of armour, and I lost Cathy for three hours,” she explained in an emotionless voice, then winced and hid her eyes again as she added “And I have a headache.”

Kat covered her mouth to stifle her laughter as Jane let out a sympathetic sigh, leaning over to whisper in Kat’s ear “And this is why I don’t let them go anywhere without supervision!”

Giving Kat a knowing wink, she left to go and find Aragon something for her headache.

**Author's Note:**

> The sixth of the seven anon prompts: “Am I your lockscreen?” “You weren’t supposed to see that.” There was no name but I figured it was time I wrote some Jane and Kat!
> 
> Alternate title: I love projecting on Kat. I don’t think its uncommon for people with bad parental relationships to have zero trust for adults who try to parent them, but when you realise that someone really just wants to care for you its absolute magic. This is set quite early on when everyone’s relationships are up in the air and Jane and Kat need to discuss things. Also my headcanon with Jane and the support group sets the scene for some good Jane angst I have planned… (also pls everyone pray for aragon lol). One prompt to go!!
> 
> I'm lailaliquorice on tumblr :)


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